They had confidence that he would be able to hit low-A pitching from day #1. But yeah, I thought he would start in Great Falls and then possibly move up after 20 or so games if everything went well. His hitting and base running have been top notch, but man is he butchering up the infield.

Going off that FutureSox prospect list, it wouldn't surprise me to see all three of Johnson, Thompson, and Sanchez all up on the big league roster next year, depending on FA moves and any trades this year or offseason. Webb is an option for the pen if we don't sign a veteran reliever or two and he can build on the gas he's throwing.

With PK gone and Dunn out the door after 2014, it wouldn't surprise me to see them give Barnum a shot in 2015 to play 1B/DH depending on if he can get that K rate down

I think Johnson is a good bet to get called up to the Sox if/when they trade Peavy. I would rather see Thompson continue to work in AA this year, and hopefully earn his way into AAA next year. He is having a bad stretch right now, but I think he can straighten things out.
It is anyone's guess with Sanchez, we will have to wait and see.
Stephen McCray and Kevin Vance are two guys who have been off the radar in Birmingham that could get a shot by the end of 2014 or early 2015. The reason for this is that none of McCray's numbers or pitches really stand out, but he does have very good command of all of his pitches and gets a bunch of groundouts. Vance is another guy who has gotten people out with his good mix of pitches. His curveball has turned into a nice finishing pitch. Even though they have nothing to do with our problem at position players, at least there are some guys who have a shot.

Molina recorded a two-inning save tonight in Birmingham. Does anyone know if this is a permanent move to the pen or are they just trying to bring him along slowly in his recovery?

He was in the pen for most of his years with the Blue Jays system. 2011 was his first year as a starter, but he has not found the same success as a starter. Maybe his best role is in middle relief or closing. But middle relief is much more likely.

With PK gone and Dunn out the door after 2014, it wouldn't surprise me to see them give Barnum a shot in 2015 to play 1B/DH depending on if he can get that K rate down

Barnum's only going to be 22 years old in 2015, that's a pretty aggressive plan even for the notoriously aggressive White Sox. Maybe, best case scenario, Barnum is a September call up in 2015 but his ETA is more realistically 2017, maybe 2016.

I think Barnum shouldn't be here until 2017 or 2018. He lost some time thanks to injuries and is starting to improve in Kanny. He is still having trouble against left-handed pitching though. I would like to see him stay in Kanny for this year and some of (or all of) next year. The Sox will probably have to sign a guy to play first base next year.
Meanwhile, Braulio Ortiz, a big power arm, moved up to WS.http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp..._t487&sid=t487